Hi there Spring Box friends!

When I was deciding what to put in the spring box, I took a lot of inspiration from my home. In the DC area, cherry blossoms are a big deal! Even though I go to see them every year, it never gets old. They are so incredibly beautiful when they’re in bloom and they just symbolize Spring for me.

One tea that I’ve seen others have but never tried myself was cherry blossoms! I went on a hunt for cherry blossoms for you all and found lots of different types. I chose to get the pickled ones because you can brew these to drink but you can also keep the salt and use it in a recipe!

If you have sensitivity to salt, I would suggest following the brewing instructions on the cherry blossom packet to get a less salty brew.

If not, you would brew these blooms simply in a pot with hot water! Bonus points for a glass tea pot so you can watch them brew. Simply put the blossoms in a tea pot and fill with hot water. This recipe uses 2 cups of brewed tea which you can use as a measurement for how much water to pour into the pot.

Allow the flowers to open up and allow the color to take color, maybe about 5-7 minutes.

This brew is very salty so be careful tasting it! It’s perfect to give the rice a bit of salt.

Feel free to use whatever rice that you like but I suggest using a medium or short grain rice. The brand that my local store has is below. The instructions on this bag show using 1.5 cups of rice and 2 cups water.

To start this rice off, I like to heat a little bit of olive oil and a couple cloves of chopped garlic in pan until it becomes fragrant!

Once fragrant, pour your rice into the pot and mix it around with the olive oil for about 30 seconds.

Next, pour your brewed cherry blossom (keep the flowers separate!) into the pot. Mix everything a little and then let it come to a small boil. Cover the pot and turn the heat down low. Let the rice cook for 20 minutes.

When the time is up, mix up the rice and top with sesame seeds and the brewed cherry blossoms!